The oil industry in Alberta involves a relatively small number...

The oil industry in Alberta involves a relatively small number of people in general, & you'd think like most other industries where people sometimes share their thoughts, they'd have a keen understanding of both their own & others business.

So, three previously undisclosed suitors were unsuccessful with their bids in June '23, yet now we have a buyer, Astara Energy Corp. For the record, Astara's chair, Lonny Tetley as we're all aware, is also a non executive director of Calima. Mr. Tetley, as we're also aware, provides related party legal services for Calima. Surely this won't be the case here, as you'd expect any legal matters on this deal be done at arms length. However, as there's no mention of this in Calima's market release we're unlikely to see this until release of the FY24 financial report. It won't be due till March 2025 & who's going to give a toss by then?

Back to more recent matters,I'd suggest shareholders should be asking Messrs Whiddon & Freeman for more detail of the negotiations back in June'23 & why they didn't result in a sale at a substantially higher price than the one just accepted. Highwood Asset Management it appears were one of the three suitors, however was it Highwood or Calima, who were responsible for the deal not proceeding to conclusion and more importantly, why Mr.Whiddon?

Its generally accepted by some in the investment community that as a retail shareholder, by definition puts you at a disadvantage to sophisticated & institutional shareholders in nearly every investment. I've often wondered, would being a 708 be of some help? I've pondered over this recently & I've concluded that sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't & sometimes it just depends. Not ever having been part of the 708 club myself, I'd defer in my musings to those with vastly more experience on this topic than me. Anyhow, I'm not even a holder here so what does it matter Mr. Whiddon?

Based on recent history, I wouldn't be confident that the proposed capital returns will be fully reimbursed. In particular, there's no mention of the 0.4c final return from the Montney sale. Any thoughts on letting shareholders know whats happening with the 0.4c Mr Whiddon?

There's still a shareholders meeting required before this sale is finalised, and for those of you inclined, you can do more than just vent your frustrations here. So many questions for management & to date so few answers that make any sense.

With 30 years of investing hindsight, I'd suggest that the disappointing way Calima's story has played out surpasses even the most "interesting" machinations of any other ASX listed company I've come across, including those primarily invested in Africa & Asia. Considering the M&A activity in the oil sector on the TSX, this has not been very Canadian experience, eh ?

I'm sure that management are currently busy, so in the meantime I'd settle for Calima's three wise monkeys, return, monark & questy, so conspicuous in their absence at this juncture, to provide some timely commentary.